Chpt 4: Is Morality Relative? The Variability of Norms and Values (Criminal Justice)

Metaethical Relativism

-no objective or universally applicable moral truths

Cultural Variability (is pointed out by descriptive relativism)

-norms, beliefs and values-this varies from culture to culture

Normative or Prescriptive relativism (tolerance of the beliefs and practices of others ) "live and let live"

-prescribing a certain morality that should be accepted -moved beyond the descriptive version in arguing that the presence of cultural variability combined with the absence of any way of determining objectively right answers to moral conflicts prohibits us from judging the beliefs and practices of others - *the problem is that pure relativism implies that intolerance should be tolerated as well

functionality

-we have to see the effectiveness of behaviors, customs, beliefs, and laws within their context in order to rightfully judge them

Four principles that might be used to determine whether the gov can legitimate prohibit or criminalize certain forms of behavior by Joel Feinberg in his book The Moral Limits of Criminal Law

1. the harm principle 2. paternalism 3. legal moralism 4. offensive conduct

Comstock Act

Defined contraceptives as obscene and regulated their distribution.

Descriptive Relativism

Differences exist between cultures, time periods, and even subcultures within the same culture -it describes the moral differences between people

The fact-value distinction asserts that the empirical techniques of science cannot be employed to resolved disputes about human values

True

Relativisim

as an ethical position argues that morality is relative to particular cultures, time periods, and even subcultures within cultures and time periods

Subjectivism

each person has her own or his own truth, none being more or less right than any other

Dogma

refers to a belief or belief system that is held unquestioningly and with absolute certainty

Ethnocentrism

refers to a way of perceiving the world and all aspects of the world from the perspective of one's own culture or social group

dogmatism

refers to the refusal to entertain criticisms of or challenges to those beliefs

Pragmatism

the purpose of anything-values, beliefs, laws, research-is not to uncover or represent the truth but to allow us to more effectively and or comfortably live our lives ex: an effective law is a law that works or it is a good law because it is effective

Ethical Objectivism

to suggests that certain acts are objectively wrong or immoral is to suggest that the quality of evil or the immorality of that act lies within the act itself -that is to say the act is wrong regardless of who is doing it and when, where, and how it is being done -or that it is inherently wrong or evil -in this sense certain behaviors have always been or always will be wrong, evil, or immoral -they are either right or wrong but cannot be both

"moral" actions are simply those that are in agreement with the norms of a given social group

true

Advocates of decriminalization or victim less crimes often appeal to the harm principle

true

Dogmatism leads to narrow mindedness rather than open-mindedness and an unwillingness to reconsider one's own values and beliefs even in light of contrary evidence

true

Ethical naturalism is a metaethical position that rejects the fact-value distinction arguing that objective knowledge of moral concerns can be obtained in much the same way we obtain knowledge of natural or social concerns

true

Ethics asks us to critically consider those morally relevant differences and the degree to which they are desirable or undesirable, beneficial or harmful, acceptable and tolerable, or reprehensible and worthy of intervention

true

Feinberg suggests that the Harm Principle justifies coercive gov action where behaviors harm people's basic welfare interests, including continued life, health , economic sufficiency, and political liberty

true

If morality and certain moral principles are universal, we are obligated to treat alike all cases in which that moral principle is relevant

true

If something has a universal character that character supersedes all other situational factors

true

John Stuart Mill suggested in his description of the harm principle that laws are designed to protect people from one another not from themselves

true

Moral values and practices can and do vary sometimes significantly between cultures

true

Most people tend to be ethnocentric

true

Relativism asks us to consider the possibility that there are no "true", "absolute", "objective" or "universal" moral principles, right or wrong actions, good or evil characters and so forth

true

Relativism can be contrasted with ethical objectivism and ethical universalism

true

Relativism is founded upon the simple notion that there are fundamental differences between the moral values of different people and cultures

true

Some moral philosophers have argued that morality is something of a local phenomenon that emerges within particular and unique contexts and that can only be judged from within those contexts

true

The claim of objectivity is a knowledge claim

true

The harm principle suggests that people should be free to do anything else they may choose-even if their actions harm themselves, offend others, or are regarded as immoral

true

The key ethical question derived from the idea of relativism is whether there are absolute moral values and universal moral principles or whether moral values and principles are relative to time, place and perhaps person

true

The law may allow for violence or call for reduced sentences and law enforcement may view such acts of violence as strictly "private matters"-those with which the police should have no involvement

true

The value of tolerance is best understood as a means of avoiding intolerance

true

There exists ample descriptive anthropological and sociological evidence that the moral value attached to different forms of behavior can vary from one culture to the next

true

To say that something is "objective" is to say that its quality or character lies within itself and consequently can be "uncovered" by any observer who knows where and how to look

true

To say that something is universal is to say that it is or at least should be true of all cultures and all time periods

true

To suggest that morality is relative is to acknowledge that morality varies from culture to culture, time period to time period, and that the morality of one culture at one time is or should be applicable only to members of that culture at that time

true

Tolerance should be understood as a willingness to understand perspectives of others and to not make judgments until we have done so

true

Typically when we say something is "objectively true" we are making a claim that "true" knowledge of that thing is possible and further that everyone should be able to agree on that truth

true

What makes ethnocentrism problematic is that it can often lead to dogmatism and intolerance

true

While objectivism holds that "true" knowledge of something is possible, ethical universalism holds that knowledge can and should be applied to everyone in every similar situation

true

is is law that ultimately must supply working answers

true

laws almost always have a moral dimension

true

the existence of moral diversity and conflict is perhaps most evident in discussions about what should be a crime

true

what is a crime in one place is not a crime in another place

true

All morality is nothing more than convention

true -if we are to say that morality is purely conventional, we are saying that there is no right or wrong only what is and what is not

Protagoras is often recognized as one of the earliest proponents of and by some accounts the father of what we now refer to as relativism

true - he said "man is the measure of all things" -for protagoras there is not natural morality, truth, justice, and so on -rather the laws and moral rules governing human behavior vary from time to time and from place to place -none of these variations is more true or more right than any other because non is objectively true or false -said that some beliefs and practices were better in light of their consequences

Honor killings also known as "karo-kari" occur within cultures characterized by a deep tradition of male dominance, wherein women are considered the property of male relatives- whether husbands,fathers, brothers, cousins

true -because the women embody the honor of family ,"deviant" behavior like having sex outside of marriage, seeking divorce, refusing an arranged marriage, and even being the victim of rape are considered insults to family honor

wrongful acts are sometimes classified as mala in se (wrong in themselves) or mala prohibita (wrong because they are prohibited)

true -crimes that are wrong in themselves (mala in se) are objectively and universally wrong- they have always, everywhere been wrong and will continue to be that way ex: murders, rape, cannibalism, and incest -other behaviors are considered wrong because a given society has defined them that way (mala prohibita) -not objectively or universally recognized as wrong rather wrongfulness varies by time and place ex:gambling, ,prostitution, underage drinking, victim-less crimes

One of the most commonly discussed justifications for the prohibition of certain types of behavior is the harm principle

true -derived from John Stuart Mill -also commonly used as justification for not criminalizing certain forms of behavior -govs can legitimately prohibit or require certain behavior when it is necessary to prevent people from harming others and only when it is necessary for this purpose

Something that is not universal would be bound in one or more ways

true -ex: applicable only to a given culture, time period, situation, person

The notion of universality follows from the idea that things have true, knowable properties or characters

true -ex: if incest has the property of being morally wrong, then the prohibition against incest is a general rule that is applicable to every situation -incest practiced 2k years ago is no different from incest practiced today

For mill liberty is a key feat. of human existence and wherever possible should not be limited by gov

true -harm or the possibility of harm to others is the only morally legitimate reason for placing limitations on liberty through the passing and enforcing of laws

The United Nations Commission on Human Rights estimates that there are over five thousand honor killings each year

true -most of these are planned, premediated killings of family members. Most often women and girls whose behavior is judged to have brought some shame or dishonor to the family -the killings are often executed by male relatives and thought not always defined as legal, in many cases they are deemed as PERMISSABLE acts of violence by cultural tradition -even where condemened by law, the majority of honor killings go unreported or at least unpunished

Laws are created to apply to all people everywhere withing a given jurisdiction

true -the nature of lawmaking is such that certain values must be imposed upon citizens

When respect for one's own culture turns into a belief in the superiority of one's own culture we endanger our capacity for open minded reasoning

true -these type of people believe that their own moral values are objectively right ones

Relativism suggest that such differences are ordinal

true -they are merely different without being better or worse than one another

In some cultures-particularly those lacking centralized law enforcement and formalized criminal law-the family of a murder victim can by custom kill a male relative of the offender in retaliation -"prisoners of their own homes"

true -this is called BLOO FUEDS -A.K.A cultural traditions of vendetta which can lead to vicious cycles of killing upon killing all in the name of vengeance and honor

Paternalism (father to children care)

when govs seek to protect citizens from themselves -refers to a relationship of giving or aiding others in which an authority relates to those in need as a father would to his dependent children